George Lavrentiadis pleads guilty to destroying coastal shack at centre of dispute between SA grandad and US celeb realtor
A long-running mystery over the destruction of a humble shack with a million-dollar coastal view has been solved – meaning the motive is about to come to light.
Police & Courts
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It has been a mystery since 2022 – who demolished the almost century-old shack with a million-dollar view, at the centre of a dispute between an SA grandfather and a US celebrity realtor, and why?
Finally, the District Court is poised to hear the answers to those questions, as the man accused of the coastal clifftop crime has pleaded guilty rather than face a jury.
On Monday, George Lavrentiadis was due to stand trial accused of having illegally demolished a “salmon shack”, built in 1934, on the Fleurieu Peninsula’s Heysen Trail.
However, The Advertiser can reveal Lavrentiadis pleaded guilty to two counts of damaging property during a pre-trial hearing – which was not open to the public – last month.
Lavrentiadis now faces a maximum 10-year prison term while Barry Robertson, who asserts his family had owned the shack since 1964, will get to give a victim impact statement.
The guilty pleas also mean the court will, for the first time, hear full details as to why Lavrentiadis demolished the shack, to which he has no known prior connection.
Lavrentiadis, 51, of no fixed address, was arrested in February 2023 and originally denied all allegations arising from the shack’s demolition on June 22, 2022.
The arrest was based on photographs showing a man, alleged to be Lavrentiadis, present at a neighbouring shack without permission to be there.
A second photograph shows a Nissan Navara, allegedly belonging to Lavrentiadis, parked near that shack with its rear window open and a yellow toolbox handle visible.
The shack, built in 1934, was at the centre of a dispute between Mr Robertson and Florida-based real estate agent Julian Galbraith Johnston.
Mr Johnston claims the shack was situated on Crown land, next to his $900,000 block of land on which he intended to build a $2 million home as a gift to his family.
Originally from Adelaide, Mr Johnston – who lives and works in Florida – has publicly denied any wrongdoing, and has denied having ordered the demolition of the shack.
He has not been charged with an offence and claims to have been subjected to abusive messages and threats of violence since the incident was made public.
The issue of shacks on Crown land has dogged state governments for almost 50 years after hundreds of basic buildings were constructed during the Great Depression.
While Mr Robertson had no lease, he was considered to have legal tenure as his shack had been there almost 90 years and he paid council rates.
Lavrentiadis was remanded on continuing bail to face sentencing submissions next week.
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